Australia is closing in on a foot and mouth disease (FMD) vaccine after the successful manufacturing of an mRNA vaccine for border disease virus (BDV).
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Instigated by the former NSW Government after FMD was detected in Indonesia, the pilot project to create a BDV vaccine has large implications as FMD and BDV share a number of similarities and it is believed protective antigens in the BDV vaccine may work against FMD as well.
Creating a working mRNA FMD vaccine would be hugely significant as the Government estimates the economic hit of a large multi-state outbreak is more than $80 billion over 10 years nationwide.
NSW DPI scientists at the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute are currently working on establishing immune response, demonstrating animal safety and optimising the formulation and dose.
There are indications the test LSD mRNA vaccine is quickly metabolised and cleared from the animal, an important step as Australian regulatory authorities have very strict standards to demonstrate that the vaccine will be cleared very rapidly and that there is no safety risk to people.
Minister for Agriculture, Regional and Western NSW, Tara Moriarty said developing local capacity to produce vaccines against emergency animal diseases is a critical priority for Australian agricultural industries and the economy.
"Now we have success with a virus which exists in Australia, we are working to establish a vaccine pipeline for priority animal diseases, including lumpy skin disease and foot and mouth disease, to ensure Australia can manufacture vaccines during an emergency response," she said.
The BDV vaccine was manufactured in Sydney by the UNSW RNA Institute after first being developed by US-based Tiba Biotech, with input from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, NSW DPI, Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Meat & Livestock Australia and the NSW RNA pilot facility.
